Village Guardian

The village chief's hand trembled slightly as he puffed on his dry tobacco, doing his utmost to keep his emotions in check and avoid making a spectacle of himself.

"Chu, thank you for bringing my poor grandson back." After a long while, the village chief said those words again.

The village chief's mind was a complete mess. He had already repeated his thanks several times.

"It's getting late. If you don't mind, Chu, I have a side room at home. You can stay the night."

"Once I've seen to my grandson's funeral, I'll properly repay you!" The village chief glanced at the sky. It was now completely dark.

Even if Chu Danqing had not helped, he could not possibly have truly driven him away.

When Chu Danqing had arrived earlier, he had already shown him his travel documents, proving that he came from a respectable family.

"Then I'll shamelessly accept. Otherwise, I really would have nowhere to go tonight." Naturally, Chu Danqing could not refuse.

Ancient times, nighttime, wilderness—those three things put together had nothing to do with safety.

"Oh, right. I'll leave these two beasts to you as well, Village Chief." As Chu Danqing spoke, he pointed to the two wolf carcasses hanging in the corner.

That gesture was no different from directly raising the village chief's family's favor toward him to the level of respect.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I'd love nothing more than to grind these two beasts' bones to ash!" The anger in the village chief's voice was so obvious that even Da Bao, whose mind was not fully sound, noticed it.

Da Bao, who was eating, shrank his head back. His huge build made the gesture look slightly comical.

"Jiang the Butcher, trouble you to deal with these two beasts. Keep the wolf pelts and bones for me. Stew the meat in a pot later and hand it out to everyone."

The village chief turned his gaze toward Jiang the Butcher, who was mooching a meal nearby.

"Don't worry, Village Chief. With my skills, I guarantee I'll strip them clean!" Jiang the Butcher immediately stood up and thumped his chest in assurance.

"I trust you to handle things." The village chief nodded. His thoughts were simple: these two beasts had eaten his grandson, so he would make them suffer the same retribution.

As for whether that was taboo, he truly did not care about such things.

"Then, Chu, eat dinner first. Tonight..." As the village chief spoke, he glanced at Da Bao again. "Jiang the Butcher, can Da Bao make do at your place for the night? So he doesn't disturb Chu."

Before Jiang the Butcher could respond, Chu Danqing spoke first. "Village Chief, that wouldn't be right. I'm only staying temporarily—how can I take Brother Da Bao's bed?"

"If he doesn't mind, I can stay with him."

Chu Danqing truly felt embarrassed about taking someone else's place. Besides, he had a little ulterior motive of his own.

No need to say much: Brother Da Bao's strength as the Village Guardian was plain for all to see. If anything happened in the night, he could look after Chu Danqing as well.

"I don't mind, I don't mind! I want to share a room with Chu!" Da Bao hurriedly swallowed the food in his mouth and spoke at once.

Jiang the Butcher's home had only one room. Sleeping with Chu Danqing was better than sleeping with Jiang the Butcher, who was far less pleasing to the eye.

"You're the one who doesn't mind? It'd already be good enough if Chu doesn't mind you." Jiang the Butcher had been blocked by the two of them and could not say much either way.

Seeing this, the village chief had been about to say something, but Chu Danqing took the lead in saying there was no need for trouble.

In light of Chu Danqing's attitude, he did not continue urging him.

"Then I'll have to trouble Chu to bear with Da Bao tonight." The village chief gave him advance warning.

After dinner, Jiang the Butcher wiped his mouth, hoisted the two wolf carcasses on a shoulder pole, and headed home.

The village chief's eldest son carried over a set of bedding and came with Chu Danqing and Da Bao to the side room.

After helping them settle things, he finally left.

The village chief's family surely would not sleep tonight, whether because they had to prepare for the funeral or because of their grief.

Inside the room, Da Bao looked at the bed with a pitiful expression. Combined with his size and appearance, it left Chu Danqing torn between laughter and tears.

"All right, Da Bao, you sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." Chu Danqing did not mind whether he slept on the bed or the floor.

"But... Da Dezi said you should sleep there." Da Bao was tempted, but he did not dare act on it.

"It's fine. Just say I told you to sleep there. When the time comes, he'll only scold me." Chu Danqing coaxed Da Bao.

He could tell that Da Bao's mental age was probably no more than five. He was just like a child.

With those words from him, Da Bao was naturally overjoyed.

The two quickly traded places. After that, Da Bao relaxed around Chu Danqing considerably, and he became much more talkative.

While chatting with him, Chu Danqing also learned quite a few things about Da Bao.

Da Bao's mother had become pregnant out of wedlock, and no one knew who his father was. After giving birth to Da Bao, she wandered into the back mountains in a crazed state and never returned.

Da Bao had been born with an intellectual disability and had grown up on meals and clothes given by every family in the village.

Still, he had done the village proud. He had grown into such a large, sturdy man. Aside from his poor mind and low mental capacity, his health and strength had not failed the villagers who raised him.

Chu Danqing also probed indirectly about the White Dragon Fish and Fallen Blossom Cave. Da Bao described them as bad things and the Black Hollow.

The two chatted back and forth, and Chu Danqing did not know when he fell asleep.

It was not until the middle of the night that he vaguely heard a baby crying.

"Whose child is crying in the middle of the night..." Chu Danqing pulled the quilt over his head. He was only halfway through complaining when he suddenly remembered his circumstances.

That jolted him fully awake.

Unfortunately, he had no way to determine the exact time. He could only judge from the angle of the moonlight shining into the room that dawn was still quite some time away.

His gaze immediately turned toward Da Bao.

He suspected Da Bao for two reasons. First, because of Da Bao's mental state; second, because the Trial Mission had mentioned it.

Fortunately, it was not him. He was sleeping very soundly.

Once Chu Danqing calmed himself and listened more carefully, he realized the sound was coming from outside.

"Waaah... waaah..."

Chu Danqing's heart tightened. He was certain that the baby's cries were drawing closer.

And there was a high chance that he was the target.

He swept his gaze around and found nothing he could use for self-defense. He wondered whether he should wake Da Bao.

As he pondered, a strange rustling came from the roof tiles, as though some four-legged creature were crawling over them.

He could not help glancing up, only to see a black shadow lower a somewhat familiar head from the eaves.

"Huh? A Giant Salamander???" Chu Danqing had studied paleontology, so of course he recognized it at a glance.

The problem was that a normal giant salamander would not have a neck as long as a snake's.

On the other side, the sleeping Da Bao abruptly opened his eyes and sat up in one swift motion.

A savage aura radiated from his entire body. The clarity in his beastlike eyes was gone.